The management of Beautiful Beginning Academy, located in Gudu District, Abuja, has refuted allegations of bullying following the circulation of a viral video on Monday.
The video showed some senior students allegedly bullying a student in SS2, identified as Imtiyas, by tying a chain around his neck and forcing him to lie on the floor.
However, Principal Aaron Ipke addressed the matter on Tuesday, clarifying that the incident was a playful performance rather than an act of bullying.
He emphasized that the school has an open-door policy, encouraging students to report concerns freely to the authorities.
Ipke explained that the students involved had arranged for the performance to be recorded using a tablet provided by the school.
He pointed out that other students in the hostel were present during the event, which indicated it wasn’t a case of bullying.
“Categorically, I will state that there was no bullying case here at BBA. There is no bullying case whatsoever. Whatever you saw, I will personally say that it was a make-believe, you know? So, there was no case of bullying,” Ipke said.
He further explained, “We were in school at the time. And the way we run our school, we operate an open-door policy. Students, even from the nursery, come to the MD’s office, to the principal’s office, to express any concerns they might have. We don’t have that kind of bureaucracy. So, if there was any bullying at all, at least one student would have heard about it and reported it to us.”
The principal also highlighted that the students had intentionally recorded the video on a tablet given to them during learning hours, which is later retrieved.
“Interestingly, let me tell you, the students actually arranged for the tablet they used to record it. The tablet is usually given to them during learning hours and later retrieved,” he added.
Ipke expressed surprise at the bullying accusation made by Imtiyas’ family, noting that the school had never faced
such a complaint in its 14-year history. “No such report was made until the sisters came on Monday to tell us there was a bullying case in the school. In fact, my MD was actually leaving that evening when they came. Out of curiosity, she asked, ‘Okay, what is this about?’ They said it was a bullying case, and she was shocked, just like the rest of us.”
“When she asked, ‘Okay, what happened?’ They showed us a video. We were like, ‘Bullied? This kind of thing happened? How? When? Where?’ You know, those are the questions, because it’s quite unusual. In 14 years of existence, we’ve never had a situation like this, or a case of this nature,” the principal maintained.
